SA’s first Holiday Expo takes place next month.

South African Tourism announces involvement with SA’s first Holiday Expo in August.

In an effort to ensure that SMMEs in the tourism industry get the opportunity to market and showcase their business on consumer-facing platforms, South African Tourism has joined forces with the Future Group hosting the inaugural Holiday Expo due to take place from 26 and 27 August 2017 at Montecasino in Johannesburg, expected to attract 7,000 visitors over the two days.

The expo is being devised as an experiential showcase, giving visitors a real taste of what exhibitors are offering. It aims to present as South Africa’s premier experiential holiday booking event and to provide a platform for various suppliers within the leisure travel and tourism market, to create an experience that will give their customers first-hand encounters of what to expect on their excursion or destination.

SA Tourism’s involvement will build on the current Hidden Gems programme development and will give 20 SMMEs the opportunity to have a thorough brand analysis done, as well as a revised marketing and CI strategy per SMME. This will continue their journey of growth and success towards broadening their respective tourism products on the market while getting upskilled and empowered to operate in the sector and a platform to showcase their business and engage with customers face-to-face.

“South African Tourism is the vessel that ensures tourism is a growing sector for entrepreneurs and subsequently shows that the government wants to support this growth to stimulate job creation opportunities,” said Debbie Damant, ‎Country Manager: South Africa at South African Tourism. “By providing greater market access for small businesses that increased demand can be created for lesser known quality tourism products in the industry.”

As publishers ofBusiness Traveller Africa,Cresta CallingandSA Tourism’s Local Leisure at its Best, the Future Group has a long history with the southern African travel industry and knows what the various players in this space want to achieve with their brands which makes them the perfect partner for the above-mentioned collaborations.

“Discussions with the industry have shown us a very positive reaction to the event particularly because it’s a great conversion opportunity,” says Richard Lendrum, Managing Director of the Future Group.

In addition, SA Tourism will also give consumers a taste of their “Good Times in a box” product (which will soon be available online) at their 20 by 10-meter stand. This product aims to make travel more accessible to the potentially lucrative domestic market and curates a range of experiences, from family getaways to girls’ weekends, all packaged in a “travel box”. At the click of a button and at one inclusive price individuals can now buy accommodation, travel and an experience effortlessly.